In January 2012, as part of a Library "Re-organization" an unspecified number of layoffs were announced in the Harvard Library system. Unlike in 2008, its endowment has returned to profitability. Join us in building a struggle against layoffs at Harvard.
We stand in solidarity with all workers who are threatened with the pink slip and for reinstatement for those who have lost their jobs.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

In a letter sent Monday, February 13 (see below), Marilynn Haussman introduced the early retirement packages and said "details will be available on Wednesday." Today, Tuesday, February 14, the Boston Globe published an article (also below) that has details already. Why this discrepancy? Why does the media learn about this before those workers who are affected?

I write today to let you know that beginning on Wednesday, February 15,
Harvard will offer a Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program
(VERIP) for eligible staff members in the Harvard University libraries
(Harvard Library). Generally, library staff members who are age 55 and
over, have 10 or more years of participation service, and are
participants in a Defined Benefit or the Defined Contribution Retirement
Plan are eligible for this program. Local Human Resources offices will
distribute personalized information packets to eligible staff members
beginning on Wednesday. Eligible staff members will have 46 days to
consider this offer. During this time, a range of support services will
be provided to help each person decide whether retiring makes sense.

The Library leadership has been working since 2009, beginning with the
Library Task Force and then the Library Implementation Working Group, to
create a strategy and structure to support the future of Harvard’s
libraries given the profound changes occurring in research libraries and
scholarship in the digital age. At every step of the way, we have been
aware of the needs of our staff whose work supports the University’s
mission every day. We are sensitive to the effect of these decisions on
those who steward one of the most important collections in the world,
support our faculty, researchers, and students, and who rely on the
University for their livelihoods.

With these thoughts in mind, the 2012 VERIP is designed to be a totally
voluntary option that will offer choice and financial support to
qualifying employees who may wish to retire. Eligible staff members
will receive individualized retirement benefit statements, and will be
assisted in their decision-making through group information sessions and
individualized retirement counseling. Full details will be available
on HARVie (http://harvie.harvard.edu) beginning on Wednesday.

We are grateful for the service, dedication, and contributions of our
library staff, and wish those who will retire all good things in the
next chapter of their lives.

Some 275 Harvard University employees will be offered voluntary
buyouts in the school’s first concrete move toward modernizing its
decentralized library system, university officials said today.
Workers there have worried about involuntary layoffs, which they
were told to expect during a contentious set of internal meetings in
January that led to protests – most recently, the “occupation” of a
library café on Sunday by students and labor activists.

But the packages offered today are “totally voluntary,” said a letter
from Marilyn Hausammann, the university’s vice president for human
resources.

The targeted employees are largely 55 and over, with 10 or more
years’ experience at Harvard. The buyouts will be offered starting
Wednesday, and employees are due to make their decisions by April 2. The
packages will offer a payment equal to six month’s pay plus two weeks
of pay for each year of service in excess of 10 years, up to the
equivalent of one year’s base pay.

On Friday, Harvard announced a sweeping overhaul of its library
system, including the consolidation of services and the shuffling of
many of its 900-plus employees. The college said the changes were
necessary to bring the system, the world’s largest academic collection,
up to speed in the digital era.
“The new Harvard Library improves a fragmented system by promoting
university-wide collaboration,’’ library officials said in a statement
today. “It will enable Harvard to invest in innovation and collections,
make decisions strategically, reduce duplication of effort and leverage
the University’s buying power.

“As Harvard works to respond to the evolving expectations of the
21st century researcher, university leaders have been acutely aware of
the needs of Library staff who support the University’s mission every
day,’’ it continued. “With this in mind, the University is implementing a
generous, voluntary early retirement program that will both offer
incentives to qualifying employees who wish to retire and help the
Library meet the needs of its new organization.’’

Mary Carmichael can be reached at mary.carmichael@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mary_carmichael.

2009 Platform

2. For a union that stands up publicly to protect workers. We call for building alliances with other campus unions, students, and community groups to oppose such problems as under-staffing, spiking medical costs, speed ups, and racial discrimination.

3. For raises of 6% per year, plus a cost of living adjustment tied to local cost of living indexes - Boston is the third most expensive city in the U.S.